Australia – Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes on pole ahead of Vettel and his Ferrari

While the first two Friday practice sessions were dominated by Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel created a surprise by propelling his Ferrari to the top of the standings in FP3, thus shattering the circuit record.

Lance Stroll, who crashed during the last free practice session, is not sure if he can participate in Q1 as his mechanics are still busy around his Williams. The gearbox is being changed and the Canadian will be penalized on the grid. In the Ferrari garage, it was Kimi Räikkönen’s car that had an issue, and a component of his power unit had to be changed, but without incurring any penalty.

Also note the last-minute withdrawal of Pascal Wehrlein, replaced immediately by Antonio Giovinazzi who is making his Formula 1 debut after participating in the winter tests and the FP3 of this Australian Grand Prix.

In Q1, the top drivers don’t wait long to take to the track and set an initial benchmark. The Mercedes cars come out on Ultra Soft tires and set the two best times, with Valtteri Bottas leading Lewis Hamilton. Behind them, the Ferraris on Super Soft tires are naturally a bit behind the Silver Arrows.

Stroll finally takes to the track during this session, with 5 minutes remaining, as black clouds increasingly threaten the Melbourne sky. Meanwhile, Hamilton takes the opportunity to reclaim the fastest time from his teammate by setting a lap three-tenths ahead of the Finn.

In the red zone, the Frenchman Esteban Ocon is trying to lift his Force India out of the bottom of the standings and records a 14th fastest time, which might not be enough. Romain Grosjean, always very comfortable in Melbourne, is in 6th place.

At McLaren, it’s all doom and gloom. Fernando Alonso manages to qualify for Q2 with a 12th fastest time, but Stoffel Vandoorne, hindered by the Spaniard on his flying lap, only manages the 18th fastest time. Noteworthy is Nico Hülkenberg’s excellent 5th fastest time in his Renault, while his teammate, Jolyon Palmer, cannot avoid the last place with a clearly less competitive car.

The eliminated in Q1: Giovinazzi, Magnussen, Vandoorne, Stroll, Palmer

The Q2 once again starts with the Mercedes quickly taking to the track, and once again, it’s Bottas who leads Hamilton by even setting the new circuit record at 1:23.215. But the Ferraris of Räikkönen and Vettel are not far behind the Silver Arrows, less than 2 tenths behind for the Finn.

All the drivers are using Ultra Soft tires. It should be noted that the set of tires with which they will sign their best time in Q2 will be the one used for the start of the race tomorrow.

Unsurprisingly, Alonso and Marcus Ericsson bring up the rear while Hülkenberg, Grosjean, and Ocon are also in the danger zone. Ahead, only 5 drivers are within the same second: the two Mercedes, the two Ferraris, and Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull.

With the exception of the top three and the Australian, all the drivers return to the track for a final lap. Vettel and Max Verstappen improve, without changing their position. The Dutchman still manages to get within the same second as Bottas’s best time.

Behind, it’s Romain Grosjean who pulls the chestnuts out of the fire by improving his time and securing the 8th position. The two Force India cars of Sergio Pérez, who was significantly hindered in his fast lap by Massa, and Ocon are eliminated, as well as Hülkenberg’s Renault and Alonso’s McLaren, which nevertheless did not underperform, but the McLaren is clearly not meeting the expected level.

Eliminated in Q2: Pérez, Hülkenberg, Ocon, Alonso, Ericsson

The ten fastest drivers will therefore fight for pole in Q3. The hierarchy will thus be clearly established for the first time this season at the end of this session. All this will take place under the watchful eye of the reigning world champion, Nico Rosberg.

excited about Q3. Merc or Ferrari? …. #F1 #AusGP pic.twitter.com/05ZlTvPiWA

— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) 25 mars 2017

And it’s clearly Lewis Hamilton who dominates everyone on the time clock, leading Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas by 3 tenths. But the German manages to wedge himself between the two Mercedes just before Daniel Ricciardo loses control of his Red Bull at the exit of a turn and crashes his car into the tire barriers. The Australian, in front of his home crowd, made a mistake somewhat similar to Jolyon Palmer in FP2. The new cars really seem more difficult to tame for all the drivers.

The red flag is waved and the session is interrupted while the Red Bull is cleared. There are 8 minutes remaining when the session resumes and only 4 drivers have set a time.

Bottas, on an all-out attack, briefly takes the fastest time from Hamilton. But the Briton gets everyone to agree by setting an impressive 1:22.188, the pole time. However, Sebastian Vettel causes a sensation by setting the second-fastest time and splitting the two Mercedes.

Räikkönen, Verstappen, Grosjean, Felipe Massa, Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat, and Ricciardo complete the Top 10 of this first qualifying session of the 2017 season.

The complete ranking:

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF QUALIFYING): Tight at the top #Quali #AusGP 🇦🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/igFxjlKFal

— Formula 1 (@F1) 25 mars 2017